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Wilson Pro Staff RF 85 Tennis Racquet Review

A limited edition racket, the Pro Staff RF 85 is another beauty from Wilson. It is a signature edition of the racket that Roger Federer started out with and has carried the legacy of Pro Staff series for decades.

Its striking black color in itself grabs your attention in the very first sigh. Its design is pretty much like the Wilson Pro Staff Jack Kramer Autograph, but looks quite unique. With the matte black finish, it looks pretty sleek and stylish.

The only thing I didn’t like much about it is that it came unstrung. You can use the strings that come along but I’d recommend going with Gosen OG Micro Sheep synthetic gut in its mains while Ytex Quadro Twist on its crosses.

Technical Details

With a 4-1/2 grip and quite a small head size of just 85 inches, this is probably the best tennis racket a pro level tennis athlete can have.

It comes with a strung weight of 12.06 oz. and is 9 points head light. You will really love its swing weight of 329 which helps to add immense amount of energy in your shots.

The stiffness rating felt a bit low on the scale, only 66 as we were expecting it to be 70 or plus. But this doesn’t affect its performance at all.

Its unique string pattern of 16 mains and 18 crosses really makes the string bed dense and helps to generate a lot of spin in your shots.

Using Wilson Leather grip, you will feel very comfortable hitting with it on the court. Its string tension is 50-60 pounds which is perfect for advanced players.

The Good

Here are the key features of Pro Staff RF 85:

Design

When it comes to design, it has pretty much identical look as that of RF97. The matte black finish looks very appealing. Also the complementing glossy tuxedo black look on its 3 and 9 o’clock positions really makes it the best tennis racquet on the market.

On the front side of its frame, it has an engraved image of Swiss maestro and best of all, all of its specifications are listed inside its throat.

Spin & Rallies

With RF 85 in hand, you will get more spin and longer rallies with a very nostalgic feel when you swing it. In simple, it gives you more of a classic feel and has a very little of forgiving feel because of its 85-inch head size.

Since this racket is heavy, when it comes in impact with the ball in front, it allows you to rotate into the ball with all those classic mechanics. And you can do this literally for hours.

Also, when slicing the ball, this racket feels more like carving the ball with a knife while hitting those volleys is extremely comfortable.

Its solid feel gives you a nice feel when throwing those serves and overheads really powerful, giving your opponent a hard time to deal with your shots.

Precision

Precision is simply impeccable. The touch and feel at the time of impact really gives you a nice hitting experience. Because tennis is all about strategic positioning and hitting, as a tennis athlete, you depend a lot on precision.

Staff RF 85 can really help you accurately position your shots wherever you want on the court.

Large Sweet Spot

This is something really applaud able. Despite its small head size, you still get a large sweet spot on its string bed which helps to increase your accuracy with hitting the ball. Also, its head light balance and thin beam really gives you an easy swing.

Though you may not get that much of top spin and hit every shot with it, still it generates enough of spin to confuse your opponent.

Also, its small head will help you on one handed backhand, especially when it comes to volleys as it offers maximum precision.

If you are someone who loves playing classic strokes or you play aggressively, this racket could be a winner for you.

Feel

Needless to say, the new Wilson Pro Staff RF 85 has a crispier feel right out of the box. The older version required some hours of playing before you can feel its crisp and comfort.

Better feel will help you get better at your technique.

Its braided graphite provides you with a purer, solid and consistent feel throughout the playing session. This material nicely dampens the vibrations and doesn’t cause any torsion, allowing you to hit big right of the baseline.

The Bad

Below are some drawbacks we found in Pro Staff RF 85.

Unstrung

Once again, Wilson disappointed us with this model because it came unstrung and you have to pay extra to get it strung by a professional. Paying such a high price for a professional grade racket and not receiving it in play out of the box condition is pretty unethical.

Material & Construction

Wilson Pro Staff RF 85 uses braided graphite material with Kevlar which gives it a very strong and durable design. Its frame is painted with matte black color and has very attractive strikes for a nice contrast.

Its graphite construction gives it a lightweight profile and really gives you a good feel when playing.

Overall Performance

Overall, RF 85 is a great racquet. It might be a bit expensive but its performance beats all the other odds. It has a very beautiful frame and you got to grab it before the limited edition ends.

Who is it for

Buy Wilson Pro Staff RF 85 only if you are an advanced level tennis player. It has a pretty small head size with a stiff frame which only the pro players love and can handle.

What our Clients say
We have worked with Ritzman Tennis exclusively for the past 4 1/2 years. I have never been as impressed with any court contractor as I am with Ritzman Tennis. This is with my 30+ years in the country club business and needless to say, countless court contractors. His product, knowledge, consultation with boards, general manager and/or committees, his responsive customer service, on time delivery of the final project and innovative thinking, put Ritzman Tennis into an elite category all by themselves. I wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone looking for the best in court construction or repair for clay, hard or claytech (and even bocce and pickle ball courts).

Paula Scheb Director of Tennis – Bonita Bay Club

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